I’ve just settled into my new place in Washington DC (Alexandria, Va specifically.) The move was fairly sudden; but my husband Shawn (http://shawnrider.com) was offered a job a PBS and I was too good to pass up. I’ve been exploring the city trying to look the local that I am - which is hard to do with camera in hand. These shots were mainly taken in and around the museums and galleries on the Mall. Shot with my favorite canon digital and the lens baby these images are just a taste of photos to come.

I few weeks ago I made a post on Miroslav Tichý - http://sarahwichlacz.com/?p=12 A little later I was lucky enough to get a comment on the post from Brian Tjepkema, Tichý’s own apprentice. I claimed that Tichý was a bona fide outsider artist, one that might not be fully aware of what he is doing artistry- Brian disagreed. He elaborates on his website-

Although Tichý was in large part rejected and even ridiculed by the authorities and by regular society, he did have friends and he was often seen amongst people in the pubs of Kyjov. Although Tichý is often presented as not only an outsider but also as a loner or hermit, Tichý spoke with many people on a daily basis. Needless to say, Tichý’s chosen friends were mostly outsiders themselves. According to Tichý, the writer Veselsky was a “nutter” as were the artists Petr Cmelik and, even, Tjepkema. Tichý was by no means a loner and many people from Kyjov have spoken with him over the years.

Okay, Brian I agree that Tichý is aware that he his creating art - and sees himself as part of an artistic community. But, I think that he is clearly on the outside of the “established” art world; making work (especially these girly photographs) for his own pleasure. This is what makes his work so damn appealing; it is not over thought and overwrought imagery made to please an academic gallery audience. Tichý’s techniques are interesting and unique; the subjects timeless and erotic. The academics have plenty to talk about - but what they see and what Tichý originally had in mind when creating the image may be vastly different. Then again this could be said about most art..

I finally shot the animal sculptures surrounding Buffalo Zoo; I only wish I could tell you more about them. Again, I shot digital with the lens baby; I just can’t get enough of the selective focus.

The Buffalo Zoo is the third oldest institution of it’s kind in the country; it was permanently established in 1875. I live near Delaware Park, home to the zoo, my husband and I often walk our dog around the the perimeter of the zoo. I’ve always enjoyed these animal sculptures that are posted on either side of the now unused zoo gates. I don’t know anything about these sculptures; the zoo was slowly constructed over many years. I guessing they were put in as part of or sometime between the construction of the famous elephant house in 1912 and the large WPA project that built the reptile house finished by 1942. Hopefully more information on the origins of these beautiful sculptures forthcoming. 6-13-06

I’ve been trying to think of something profound enough to say about Li Wei’s fantastic images. I imagine his unique disembodied head and embedded head images, especially given the particularly Chinese locations, work as a metaphor for changing China. Wei himself says “The brain is the geography of the person. It is the home.” Li Wei’s work definitely walks that line between performance art and photography; he, like Andy Goldsworthy, sees his work first as a performance. I think all photography has a performative aspect - but in both these cases the artists rely on the permanent image to give audience to their work.

Li Wei lives in Beijing and represents the second generation, of performance artists working in China. He began his career in the late 1990s, and is most well known for his Mirror 2000 series, which includes over 40 site-specific performance pieces. Using a large mirror, three feet square, with a hole in the center large enough to accommodate his head and neck, Li places his head through the hole and “projects” his image onto various historical and urban environments.

I just wanted to put up some of my early scanner camera work (2005) - this is just a taste of a few early series. There is more to come…

From the artist statment-

These scanner camera images are cubist, allowing us to see multiple angles and perspectives on a subject in action. They are photographic equivalents to futurist motion studies, revealing the frenetic nature of the animated world. They are the discrete time photomontages of David Hockney bound within a single frame. But even more, they are all of these things in real-time, drawn directly from the real world

I wrote this essay for a film theory course I took from Brian Henderson back in 2004 when I was a grad student at University of Buffalo. Ironically, when I was researching the topic I found that Brian Henderson, my prof, had written one of the most important essays on voice over narration. I guess he liked my take on it, because he gave me an A. I was intrested in termonolgies and structures; but I was mostly intregued by where these structures break down. So, I’m offering it up here on my site publicly for the first time.

Narratives that transcend simple labels are often the most innovative and groundbreaking; these hybrid narratives can also lead to greater understanding of the forms, systems, and terms themselves. Not all voice-over narration can be neatly divided into two categories; those of first- and third-person narratives.

More golden oldies from Sarah’s vault. I wrote this essay as an undergrad (1999 I think;) it’s not bad, a little naive, but I make some good points and have a few great examples. Mark and Bourke-White certainly have much in common.

Bourke-White marks the evolution from the machine aesthetic to the more human approach. She was perhaps the most famous and respected photographer of her time, she moved the art of photography and science of journalism ahead. By exposing the truth and documenting the time Bourke-White has made a positive impact on this world. … Mark has followed Bourke-White’s humanitarian calling. Mark continues to photograph the small people and the everyday problems, unlike Bourke-White who was the best photographer on the scene, Mark wants to be the only photographer.

I just noticed that Andrea Modica is showing at Chicago’s Catherine Edelman Gallery; wish I could afford a Treadwell print - but “…8 x 10″ platinum/palladium contact prints made in an edition of 20 with 3 AP’s … range from $2000 to $6000 depending on how many have sold in the edition.” It looks like Modica is doing well; I only knew of her Treadwell, NY work but the newer Fountainhead, CO work seems equally as good. A slight departure from the doughy girls of Treadwell, The Foutainhead series reminds me of Roger Ballen’s work (Ballen has also shown at Edelman.) I think it maybe the rustic environments and eerie newborn animals.

I was reminded of this essay when I recently posted about Antoine D’Agata’s social documentary work. I wrote this essay back in 2001; I was taking an English course on narrative from Rick Fehrenbacher. Being a fan of Jim Goldberg’s work I saw great a great opportunity’s to address the story at the heart of his work. Jim Goldberg’s Raised by Wolves is purely narrative. It is a story, as true as any story can hope to be; it is a story told through many mediums; it is the story of the streets. Jim Goldberg, a photographer by trade, spent ten years on the streets of San Francisco and LA “documenting” the citys’ homeless teens. Raised by Wolves is the story of Goldberg’s experience with these teens. This story takes on many forms: a traveling art gallery exhibit, a book, a website, and an experience. All of these radically different modes of narrative function to tell the same story. Raised by Wolves is the fabula at the core of these different manifestations, altered by different mediums and orders. But multiple venues are just the tip of the multimedia iceberg.

** In Rick Fehrenbacher’s Narrative course I also created where the class posted great links and essays about many types of narrative - I highly recommend taking a look.

This is one of my favorite photographic websites of all time. Photographer Ari Versluis and stylist Ellie Uyttenbroek have made a thing of beauty. A fashion spread meets Bernd and Hilla Becher’s Typologies, but way better. Another wonderful use of the semiotic photographic grid; Susan Eder and Marion Faller’s work also comes to mind. There are also shades of Nikki Lee’s subculture projects.

From Wim van Sinderen:

They call their series Exactitudes: a contraction of exact and attitude. By registering their subjects in an identical framework, with similar poses and a strictly observed dress code, Versluis and Uyttenbroek provide an almost scientific, anthropological record of people’s attempts to distinguish themselves from others by assuming a group identity.